Southend School and Upper Mangatarere Catchment Group creating an intergenerational link

November 30, 2024

Catchment group mahi is an intergenerational kaupapa. Upper Mangatarere Community Catchment Group are connecting with local tauira. 

Southend school students observing the river and talking about where they could use the moss for bank stabalisation

The Upper Mangatarere Community Catchment group formed out of local landowner passion for te taiao. The community first came together in 2012 around the proposal to dam the Mangatarere River. UMCCG officially formed in 2020 under the Wairarapa Pūkaha to Kawakawa Catchment Group project. The group's vision is to look after the waterways in their catchment area and restore the native biodiversity in and around the streams.

The groups key aims are:

  • Monitoring freshwater quality
  • Implementing predator control
  • Planting streamside and wetlands
  • Restoring native biodiversity
  • Connection with tauira (students) at local schools
  • Facilitating community emergency response.
Southend School students and teacher sorting the moss from the grass

As a group they appreciate that this is a long journey and the mahi that is being done today is for future generations to appreciate. It is important to the group that tauira are involved in this work in part to learn from one another and in the hope that they are invested in continuing and expanding the work.

Southend school students and teachers harvesting moss from the Mangatarere Valley

In August this year, the community began connecting with Southend school on a number of key projects. Small groups of 8 students have signed up to a project that they are interested in and will follow along with. At this stage there are four projects that have started:

  • Freshwater quality monitoring: students are joining the quarterly sampling of 5 sites along Mangatarere River. They will use the data in the classroom for maths and science to better understand their local awa from a western science perspective.  
  • Moss translocation: moss has been harvested from the Mangatarere valley and will be grown into a woolen mat medium. The students will nurture the moss over the summer until it is ready to translocate back to the Mangatarere. The aim is to use the sheets to stabilise the banks of one of the monitoring sites. 
  • Seedling collection and planting: a range of foundation species from grasses to kōwhai have been collected from the valley by students. Over 150 seedlings have been collected to be grown in potting trays until Autumn / Winter 2025. When the time is right the students will come back into the valley and reintroduce these young plants along a local restoration site within the catchment. 
  • Christmas tree fundraiser: wilding pines are spreading through the valley so students have harvested the trees to sell. All proceeds will go towards purchasing traps for a local predator control programme. 

Southend students potting native grasses for restoration planting in 2025

In 2025 the group will expand the work with two additional programmes. The keen artists at the school will work to create signs to display to the public some of the amazing work that is happening in the catchment. A number of students have participated in the local tracking and trapping project and are excited to get some more hands-on experience doing community pest control in the valley. 

Southend school students and teachers walking along the Mangatarere River learning about the importance of native trees and shading for the health of our awa

This mahi has been done as part of Wai Connection, a Mountains to Sea Wellington project and in partnership with the Wairarapa Catchment Collective. To learn more about the Wairarapa Catchment Collective check out the website.

Maddy
Glover
Catchment Restoration and Science Coordinator - Wairarapa
Happiest in/on/around/under the water Maddy has a passion for all things wai. She is excited to have the opportunity to foster love for te taiao and work with communities to expand the restoration work that is already being done around Wairarapa waterways.
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